Carnival fears long-term swine flu debate impact

Ms Sherry said it was crucial that the industry highlighted its importance in the face of possible cancellations of inbound tours.

"Firstly, we need to keep saying with confidence that we have good processes on the ships," she said.

"Secondly, [that while ships] are a meeting-place for people . . .  they are probably safer than many community settings.

"Thirdly, tourism/travel is a critical industry for Australia, it is part of our fabric as an economy and we need to do everything we can to keep public confidence that we as an industry are managing this well." 

Ms Sherry highlighted her bemusement to the public debate by saying the Pacific Sun had turned around in Brisbane and sailed on Wednesday attracting no attention at all.

Having spoken to the US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention, she understood that 50% of flu cases there were swine flu and that it was now the "flu of the season".

What needed to be understood in Australia was that it was behind a cycle which was plain in the US.

"Not every country in the world hits the same point in a pandemic at the same time," Ms Sherry said.

"My challenge is to make sure that we as a business and we as an industry do not suffer collateral damage because of the pace of public health management and the style of public debate."

The US had already developed protocols both generally and for the cruise industry in its region and these, along with lessons learnt from earlier viral infections over the past decade, had assisted Carnival's response to swine flu.

"I've been sending those protocols to various public health departments in Australia, hoping they can take some comfort that this has already been dealt with in other parts of the world and there are mechanisms for dealing with it," Ms Sherry said.

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